MEMPHIS
Fuck.What the hell had I been thinking?
I stared at my reflection in the mirror as I considered the answer to my own question. I hadn’t been thinking – not really. Because if I had, I wouldn’t have had to sit through what I could only call thirty minutes of pure torture.
Plain and simple.
Watching two men commit themselves to one another should have been an easy thing to do, but the second I’d seen Brennan Devereaux walk across the threshold of the door leading from the house to the picturesque backyard, I’d felt my insides knot up tight and I’d regretted accepting Ronan’s invitation to his impromptu wedding.
I’d gotten the call from Ronan two days ago and while I’d assumed he was contacting me to go over business, I’d been caught off guard when he’d told me he and Seth were getting married that weekend and had asked me to attend. I’d said yes out of pure obligation. It wasn’t the best reason to watch two people in love promise themselves to one another, but it was the truth.
I’d secretly hoped I’d get called away for a case, but it hadn’thappened and as I’d made the drive to Seattle from my house in the foothills of Mt. Hood, I’d felt my excitement increase at the mere prospect of being in the same city as the young man I still hadn’t been able to expel from my mind in the nearly five days since I’d last seen him. When I’d been so close to him that I’d been able to see the flecks of gold in his pretty green eyes, even as his pupils had dilated as his body had responded to mine.
But even though part of me had wanted to have another encounter with the young man I was fast becoming obsessed with, I hadn’t actually considered it to be even a remote possibility since the ceremony was taking place at Ronan and Seth’s home on Whidbey Island. It hadn’t even occurred to me that Brennan might have befriended the couple, though it should have been an obvious possibility since Ronan had saved Brennan’s life.
The reminder of a lifeless Brennan lying in the back of an ambulance while Ronan leaned over him doing chest compressions, had me flipping on the cold water and running my hands under it and splashing it on my face.
There’d been less than a dozen people at the wedding and while I knew most of them, I hadn’t bothered to interact with any of them and I’d made sure to arrive only minutes before the ceremony had been set to start. I’d arrived discreetly and had selected a chair in the back row and had only briefly acknowledged the men who worked for Ronan…and now me. There’d been little to no frills for the actual service. Just a dozen chairs sitting near the bluff that overlooked the dark blue water and an older man with thinning hair to officiate. I’d already taken my seat when I’d looked over my shoulder to watch for the grooms, only to see Brennan step out of the house and hurry across the yard. He’d been adjusting the dark blue tie he’d been wearing and hadn’t been looking up as he’d made his way to where the chairs had been set up. When he’d finally looked up, he’d paused as our eyes had connected. I’d taken in every detail I could about him from the way his white dress shirt clung to his chest to the sleek black dress pants that hugged his ass and thighs. He hadn’t started moving again till I’d forced my gaze from his, and the only relief I’d felt in that moment was when he’d gone tosit next to Eli and Mav, who’d saved him a seat. I’d forced myself to turn my attention back to the house so I could watch the grooms and their tiny wedding party make their approach.
The ceremony had been relatively short and sweet. One of my former colleagues, Hawke, and his lover, Tate, had acted as best men and their five-year-old son had held the rings. There’d been a moment of hushed amusement as little Matty Travers had struggled to dig the rings out of his pocket and when he’d gotten flustered, it had been Ronan who’d bent down and whispered something to the little boy that had had him nodding and smiling. I hadn’t actually met the child, but I knew he was still in the midst of his treatment for leukemia. I also knew that Ronan and Seth had played a primary role in helping to care for the little boy and that they’d likely planned their wedding to coincide with one of the weeks Matty got to leave the hospital between rounds of chemotherapy.
Matty had proudly handed over the rings and received hugs from both Ronan and Seth before going to stand by his fathers who’d stood off to one side of the small, flower-covered arch, hands clutching. I’d tuned out the actual vows and dropped my eyes to my hands as I’d been transported back to a time when I’d been planning for this exact moment in my own life. Before I’d realized that nothing I’d believed to be true actually was. But I hadn’t been able to get lost in my reverie for too long because I’d felt a shiver snake up my spine and had known before I’d even looked up what had caused it. Or rather, who.
He’d glanced my way at least a dozen times throughout the ceremony and with every lingering look, my cock had swelled painfully with need. By the time everyone had stood to applaud the grooms as they’d been announced as being joined together forever in marriage, I’d been desperate to escape and I had been halfway across the yard before I’d even considered how strange it would look.
I should have just gone right to my car instead of hiding out in the bathroom, but even I knew it would be a shitty thing to do. As much as I needed to get out of there, I owed it to Ronan to offer my congratulations.
The chill of the water helped ease some of my raging libido andas I reached for a guest towel to dry my face, I shook my head as I realized what I’d been reduced to.
Because of one young man.
“Ridiculous,” I muttered to no one and then reached for the doorknob. As I yanked the door open, all reasonable thought disappeared as I saw Brennan standing on the opposite side of the door, his back against the wall. I’d chosen a small powder room close to the front door because I’d known there wouldn’t be much foot traffic, since most of the wedding party would be staying outside as caterers prepared to serve a variety of appetizers before the main course.
Brennan didn’t seem surprised to see me, but he was clearly on edge because his hands were pushed deep into his pockets and he immediately straightened and began shifting nervously back and forth. “I…sorry, I…” he stammered and then stopped long enough to try and gather himself. “I left something in there,” he murmured as he motioned to the bathroom. I’d noticed the garment bag hanging on the back of the door, but hadn’t given it much thought.
“I came from work and had to change,” Brennan said softly. He was watching me intently as he spoke and it almost seemed like the words were an afterthought.
And honestly, I didn’t give a shit what he was saying because I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. I couldn’t do anything but stand there, my hand still on the doorknob. I barely noticed Brennan take his hands out of his pockets because I was too focused on him closing the distance between us. I expected him to stop his forward motion as soon as he reached me, but he didn’t. And by the time I realized what he was going to do, I didn’t even try to stop him.
I didn’t want to.
I stood frozen as his hand came up to grab the back of my neck and then he was pulling my head down. There was no tentativeness, no hesitation, as he brushed his mouth over mine. I still had a death grip on the door, but the second his chest touched mine, I released it and snagged my arm around his waist.
I’d known kissing Brennan would be a unique experience, butthat didn’t even begin to describe what was happening. It was unlike anything I’d ever felt before.
Because I felt that one kiss everywhere.
Every part of my body came alive with sensation as his firm lips skimmed mine several more times before he gave me a teasing lick just before pulling back. He was still gripping my neck and I was still holding on to him, but he didn’t lean in to claim my mouth again. Instead, he held my eyes with his and I heard him dragging in heavy breaths.
I knew he was waiting for me to make the next move. But something inside of me kept me from moving or speaking. I couldn’t make myself let him go, but I couldn’t move forward to take his mouth the way I wanted either.
I sensed the shift in Brennan as he took in my silence and I knew I needed to let him go so that he would walk away and hopefully not look back. But instead of releasing him when he loosened his hold on my neck, I shook my head and muttered, “No,” and then maneuvered us enough so I could kick the bathroom door shut behind him, closing us off from prying eyes.
Brennan let out a surprised cry when I slammed my mouth down on his and pressed him up against the door, but he recovered quickly and the second I thrust my tongue into his mouth, his was there to greet it. I jammed my hips against his until our cocks connected and then I was grinding against him as I desperately drank down every little moan of pleasure that bubbled up from his throat. I was holding his neck with both my hands so I could control every facet of the kiss, but it wouldn’t have mattered because he met every brush of my mouth over his with equal fervor and when I drew back enough to let him catch his breath, he merely sucked in a quick draw of air before his mouth was back on mine. His hands were on the move too and I nearly came when he grabbed my ass and dragged me forward again so our dicks were once again perfectly aligned.
When I was finally forced to release his mouth so I could suck in some air, I put my hands against the door on either side of his headand pinned him with my gaze. His breathing was ragged as he watched me in silence, but the hunger in his gaze was undeniable. He watched me for several long seconds before he dropped his eyes and I did the same when I felt his fingers brush over my belt. I couldn’t move or think as he began working the belt loose and the jangling of the metal as he released the buckle had me pulling in a deep breath. His eyes lifted to meet mine again as he released the button and then slowly lowered the zipper.
I had countless chances to stop him. To remember that he wasn’t a quick and easy fuck…that everything about him went against the rules I’d set for myself to keep me from doing something stupid.
